UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a full-time internship with the Protection Team at the Regional Bureau for Eastern and Southern Africa in Nairobi. Under the direction and supervision of the Protection Officer, the intern will support all the activities of the Unit in its work to support legal frameworks and law reform in the region, strengthening the integrity of protection, assistance and solutions processes and human rights engagement, and supporting the production of information products, including, though not limited to, newsletters and return factsheets. The candidate will work in a team and is expected to collaborate with other team members and across the other Teams and sections of the Bureau to contribute towards the overall objectives of the RB. The Intern will complete assigned tasks on time and consult as needed. The Team encourages freedom of thought and welcomes innovation and self-initiative.
Target Start Date: 2026-09-14
Organizational context
Established in December 1950, UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for asylum seekers, refugees, returnees, internally displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. UNHCR currently operates in over 120 countries, using its long expertise to protect and care for forcibly displaced and stateless persons.
The Protection team in the Regional Bureau (RB) provides strategic leadership, oversight, quality assurance, and technical support to UNHCR country operations across 25 countries divided into 11 Operations and 3 multi-country offices. The team supports country operations and partners in strengthening protection environments and ensuring that forcibly displaced and stateless people can access rights, protection, and durable solutions in line with international and regional legal frameworks. In carrying forward the High Commissioner’s 50 by 35 Vision, the Protection Team promotes the meaningful inclusion and empowerment of forcibly displaced and stateless persons,
Working across refugee, asylum, returnee, internally displaced, and statelessness contexts, the Protection Team guides operations on core protection functions including asylum and refugee status determination, registration and identity management, child protection, gender-based violence (GBV), community-based protection, accountability to affected people, legal protection, and protection responses along mixed movement routes. The team also supports engagement with regional and national institutions, humanitarian and development partners, Regional Economic Communities, and other stakeholders to promote protection-sensitive policies and practices.
The team also coordinates activities to strengthen the integrity of protection, assistance, and solutions processes across country operations by ensuring compliance with UNHCR policies, standards, and guidance. Its work contributes to the development of comprehensive legal and protection strategies and responses for forcibly displaced and stateless persons throughout the region.
The Role
Under the direct supervision of the Protection Officer, the Protection Intern will support the work of the team and will have the opportunity to:
- Develop research, analytical, and drafting skills in the context of protection and solutions for forcibly displaced and stateless populations.
- Gain experience working in multi-stakeholder environments, including with governments, NGOs, regional organizations, and other UN agencies.
- Contribute to the development and implementation of strategic approaches to address protection risks and solutions needs.
- Acquire practical experience in the application of international refugee, human rights, and statelessness law to operational challenges in the region.
- Support the development of guidance documents, analytical products, and tools related to protection, legal frameworks, and durable solutions.
- Gain exposure to data collection, analysis, and evidence-based decision-making in humanitarian and development contexts.
- Develop an understanding of how international organizations operate in complex political, legal, and social environments.
These experiences would provide valuable insights into UNHCR’s work and help develop skills relevant to a career in refugee protection, international law, human rights, or humanitarian assistance.
Duties and responsibilities
The Responsibilities and duties of the Protection Intern will include, but not be limited to:
- Conduct legal, policy, and protection research and analysis on forced displacement, statelessness, asylum systems, human rights, and durable solutions across the region.
- Support the collection, compilation, analysis, and visualization of data related to statelessness, fraud case management, human rights compliance, judicial developments, and durable solutions initiatives.
- Assist in the preparation of reports, briefing notes, presentations, correspondence, statistics, and other analytical products for senior management and external stakeholders.
- Assist in drafting communication materials, advocacy materials, and communication products related to protection, statelessness prevention and reduction, and durable solutions.
- Monitor and track developments in national laws, policies, strategic plans, and human rights situations, including progress on statelessness and protection-related indicators in country operations.
- Support assessments, analysis, and reporting on durable solutions, including voluntary repatriation, local integration, complementary pathways, and, where appropriate, resettlement.
- Assist in the planning, coordination, and documentation of meetings, webinars, training sessions, consultations, and events, including activities related to UNHCR’s 75th Anniversary.
- Supporting the review and analysis of Multi-Year Strategic Plans to identify countries with statelessness outputs and outcomes.
These tasks align with the Protection Team’s work on supporting legal frameworks for countries in the region, integrity of processes, human rights engagements in coordination with DIP, and statelessness prevention, while providing valuable experience to the intern in the legal and policy aspects.
Minimum qualifications required
In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Be either a recent graduate (having completed their studies within two years of applying) or a current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by IAU/UNESCO; and
- Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of UNHCR.
Desirable qualifications and skills
- Bachelor’s degree in law, international relations, social sciences or other relevant field and;
- Knowledge of UNHCR’s work and especially in the area of statelessness prevention and durable solutions.
Conditions
This is a full-time role with working hours from 08.00 am to 16:30 Monday to Thursday and 08.00 am to 14.00 Friday (40 hours per week, with a lunch break). The successful candidate will be assigned to support the Team in Nairobi.
Allowance: Interns who do not receive financial support from an outside party will receive an allowance to partially help to cover the cost of food, local transportation, and living expenses.
NOTE: An individual whose father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister is a staff member of UNHCR, including a Temporary Appointment holder or a member of the Affiliate Workforce, is not eligible for an internship
